One boat, ten trollies, one very very heavy motorbike…

Cardiff Rivers Group enjoyed the glorious Spring sunshine on Saturday as they undertook a back-breaking project to remove tons of waste from the river Taff.

The area below Radyr had never been tackled before due to the lack of vehicle access to remove collected waste, but this did not deter the volunteers who were joined by staff from Cardiff Council with their boat. Photos from yesterday’s event can be viewed here

28 volunteers from all over Cardiff spent over 4 hours collecting and transporting huge volumes of heavy waste from the riverbanks to the boat pick-up point. Wader-wearing volunteers then loaded up the boat and transported it across the river to be unloaded.

Group Secretary Dave King, said, “Today was a fabulous day and a fabulous turnout of volunteers. We’ve wanted to tackle this area for ages and I am delighted that we have finally managed to do it. This was made possible by the use of the Council’s boat for which we are very grateful”.

Over 2 tonnes of waste was removed in 12 trips. Waste included bikes, tyres, traffic cones, a 750cc motorbike, a wheelchair, large metal wheelie bin, 2 lifejackets and of course, about 10 trollies. Cardiff Council will dispose of all collected waste.

Group Member, Louise Tambini added, “I’m sure that volunteers had lots of other things they could have been doing on such a lovely day, but the fact that so many of them gave up their time to help today just shows their determination and dedication to clean up the rivers of Cardiff. I was so pleased to see that half the volunteers travelled to today’s event by bike or public transport which shows their commitment to the broader environment and climate change ”.

The next event will take place Easter Saturday, April 23rd when the group will return to tackle the banks of the Taff in Bute Park.